Acting the tourist in San Francisco (Sunday)

We had all day to be touristy in San Francisco. The folks we were staying with had a few errands to run in the morning, but we were well entertained with their adorable 3 year old. I did my best to show off my juggling skills and she showed us how far her education had already come (and how much she liked Pingu).

Heading in to downtown San Francisco, we started with an early lunch at a Boudin. We each had a sourdough breadbowl filled with either clam chowder, or chili, and a half a sandwich each. Their sourdough was fantastic, and the chowder even better. I snagged a small round of sourdough on the way out.

We headed for the nearest cable car stop and waiting in a couple of lines (first to get tickets, and second to get on). We were amazed by the way that the cable cars work. They have giant turn tables that turn the cars around, and the cars are pulled by a underground cables. Very cool. Very touristy.

We rode the whole length of the line we got on and it left us at our destination, Fisherman's Wharf. From here, we walked along the bay to Ghirardelli Square. Before indulging in any chocolate, we stopped at a cute little cupcake place, Kara's Cupcakes. Our friend from the area had forgotten his sunglasses and though it was a cloudy day, needed pair for his eyes (as I usually do when outside). He found a couple of tents set up where people were playing a demo of a Nintendo DS game, after playing he score some sweet shades with neon green sides. Very stylish!

The chocolate place is pretty cool, you can see them make the chocolate right there, just as they have for years. We had some hot chocolate (verdict: almost or too rich!). And found some take home treats before we left.

At this point, Misty realized that she no longer had her pashmena (wrap) that she'd bought in Canada so long ago. We scoured the area for it, but alas, could not find it. I looked back in my pictures on my camera and found that she didn't have it when we were at Kara's, the first place we stopped, so we just headed back the way we came. As luck would have it, some kind soul had found it, folded it up (along with some uh, interesting drawings) and left it on a park bench. Misty was very grateful.

Along the piers, we stopped at the historic Hyde Pier where lots of old ships are parked. Each ship is lined with displays and placards giving history. Cool place, glad we stumbled upon it.

From there we walkd to Pier 39, the shopping mall pier. Somewhat interesting, but too many shops and people. We did find a nice little crepery to eat at.

For dinner, our hosts made us some fantastic Dosa. Probably the best Indian food I've ever had.

Dresden - Day 3

Less rainy on Tuesday. We were up early, as usual (not quite adjusted), grabbed breakfast, and then took a walk to Neustadt. The museums at the Zwinger don't open until 10am, so we just wandered until then, but we found quite a few treats over in Neustadt. Lots of statues (shiny gold, and otherwise), fountains, plazas and fabulous architecture.

Once open, we headed to the Zwinger to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery). With the purchase of a 5 euro "photo/video" pass, Misty was able to give a go at taking photos of paintings... no flash of course. We found it strange how much natural light they were letting in, can't be good for the paintings. The next stop was the Rüstkammer (Armory), which cost us no additional entry fee, where they house medieval weaponry and armor.

The Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, a top item on our list to see, is closed until 2009 or 2010 (depending on the sign you believe). Instead, we headed to find lunch and found it when we came across a teeny tiny street market where we found a Berlin favorite, currywurst.

The ascent to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) cupola was open (often closed for wind and other minor weather events), so we took to the lift (as elevators are called in.... well, Britain) and then the ramps, stairs, ladders, steep spiral staircases, and other climbing devices to reach the top where we were greeted with breathtaking views of Dresden.

The ISC'08 conference started tonight, so I headed over for the opening gala while Misty recuperated from the day's march (and sun). Word on the street is that ISC'09 will take place in Hamburg.

Dresden - Day 2

Word from the other side of the globe is that our buddy JL has a second interview! W00T! Here is a picture of a statue we saw today that made us think of you. Good luck!

Day 2 of Dresden started with a breakfast buffet at the wee hours of 7 am. Wide awake and roaring to go, we headed down to the lobby. The restaurant was QUIET. Creepy quiet. The food... um. Some cold cuts of smelly, meats that I did try. Cheese? Cheese for breakfast? Not just any cheese... brie? The yogurt was good although very rich. There were about 8 different kinds of rolls and bread. The scrambled eggs looked interesting but we both stuck with the cereal. Looks like corn flakes but tastes better. I mixed in the chocolate granola mix and was good to go. Also, very lovely tea options with fancy chunks, yes chunks, of raw or regular sugar.

After breakfast, we headed out to see what we could find before 8 am. Turns out, you get the Zwinger grounds to yourself! The museum wasn't open (Monday) but the early hour and rain kept others away as we walked and took photos. No one blocking your shot or walking through your shot. Truly lovely!

After a an hour or so we walked out of the Zwinger headed to the Frauenkirche. Before we got there we noticed a short line of people AND the sign for the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault). We decided to wait in line for a half hour, just until it opened and walk around as it was open on Monday but closed on Tuesday. They have a certain number of tickets for the Historical Grünes Gewölbe that they give out in 15 minute chunks (entry time) with a half hour between the times (ex 30 tickets for 10:15-10:30 and then 30 tickets from 11:00-11:15). Because of people cutting and basically messing with the concept of a line, we just missed the early one but did get a couple tickets for the 11:00 window.

While we waited for our time to enter the Historic section, we went to the 'New' section. Sad but understandable, no cameras were allowed in any part of the museum so no photos for you. This place was amazing. Intricate, tiny items with gems. Carved ivory (poor elephants), gold, silver, and wood pieces. Seriously amazing. The most beautiful item, and the reason for the vaults name, is the Dresden Green Diamond. I am not generally a jewelry person but dang, this thing was gorgeous. It is 41 carats and a lovely shade of green (contact with natural radioactivity). The link to the picture is not one we took.

At 11:00 we headed to the Historic part of the vault. So far, the 'vault' was just rooms with lovely trinkets. Now we were into some serious stuff. You have to go through (in sets of 2) a set of sealed, compressed, and filtered doors. The vault consists of 9 rooms with the single entrance and an exit (same sealed, compressed, and filtered doors). This place had some crazy, valuable stuff. The amount of ivory made me ill but the detail and skill is incredible. Sorry, I wish I had pictures. I did get some post cards of items in the vault but it just isn't the same on paper. I am so glad we were able to get in line early and get tickets to see this place.

After this mind boggling collection of goodies, we needed a more relaxed atmosphere. So we head to the Frauenkirche to see if we could get inside. There is no line and we breeze by but take note of the 'prohibited' sign and are reminded that we are entering a house of God so behave appropriately. The prohibited sign includes cameras... Hm. No photos = behave? Sorry, I needed to take a couple shots. So guilty! Oh, for those of you reading this you can now visit our picture page, yeah! We will upload pics that we don't post on the blog so be warned, there will be a lot.

Hee, hee. After all this looking, we needed to do some eating. Ok, I know we are in Germany but sometimes you just need to go where you can read the menu. My extremely limited German from many years ago is not helping. We ended up at a lovely Italian restaurant and had spaghetti (very tasty) and fresh Gnocchi (also very tasty). We have so far enjoyed the food but we are confused about the water. We cannot get a glass of ice water from the tap. It is either sparkling or mineral water, even when we ask for tap water... Mineral water has a flavor and who needs carbonation in water? Some of you know how much water I drink so this has made me a little dehydrated. I will figure this one out before we leave Germany.

Day 2 part 2 - We did go back for a 3 hour nap and the back out to see Dresden at night. The light here with all the buildings is great for photos. With all the rain the ground was shiny. And really, the cobblestone here holds up so well!

Dinner is the first order of business and we found another little place with a menu in German and English. They bring us a small salad of white asparagus to start. We decide on potato sausage soup, cucumber dill salad, and ham with mashed potatoes. Mmmm... Add to that a lovely hot chocolate and apple strudel with vanilla sauce, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream and you have yourself two happy campers. In the photo you will see a little orange fruit. It was very tasty but neither of us could figure it out. The nice waiter wrote down the name physalis. We of course google it and turns out it is a golden gooseberry!